Dundee midfielder Shaun Byrne is hoping to get one over on his former boss tomorrow but knows David Hopkin will have his Morton side up for a fight.
Byrne played under ‘Hoppy’ for two seasons at Livingston, gaining promotion to the Premiership in 2018 before joining up with the Dark Blues this summer.
Via a spell at Bradford, Hopkin is back in Scottish football with home town club Morton.
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And Byrne knows exactly what to expect from his old gaffer as the Dee travel to Greenock looking to build on last Saturday’s 2-1 home success over Alloa.
He said: “I’ve played at Cappielow a couple of times in the Championship and it’s quite a tight ground but it’s usually a good park.
“It will be a tough game. I know Hoppy well and it’ll probably be a lot of long balls and long throws into the box.
“They’ll be organised and fit so it’ll be a hard one but, hopefully, we can do what we’re good at and win the game.
“Usually his teams are aggressive and in your face, winning a lot of the second balls. They do the dirty side well and it was the same at Livingston so we’ll be in a match.”
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Speaking on team photo day, the 26-year-old says the squad are in high spirits after their start to the season.
And Byrne just hopes they can keep that good feeling going with another win tomorrow afternoon.
The Dark Blues haven’t won two league games on the bounce since successes against Hamilton and Ross County in May 2018.
The aim for Byrne is to go on a winning streak. However, he knows doing that is a different matter entirely as they ‘scrap’ for points.
“It’s been good, there’s a lot of good boys in the team,” he added.
“It’s been going well but we just need to go on a bit of a run now. We got a good win on Saturday but, hopefully, we can get a bit of momentum and kick on.
“It’s a hard league and every point is like a scrap. You’ve got to fight for every point so every win is important and we’re looking to get another one tomorrow.
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“It’s hard to win any game in this league but last Saturday, after the last couple of results, the main thing was just getting three points no matter how we did it.
“Hopefully we can carry that momentum with us down to Morton.”
Byrne and full-back Cammy Kerr are the only two Dundee players to have appeared in every match in all competitions so far this term.
That consistency and faith shown in him by gaffer James McPake is a point of pride for the midfielder.
However, he believes the fans are yet to see the best of him and the team as they start to find their feet in the division.
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Byrne said: “I think I could still do more, to be fair. I’ve done alright but there’s a lot more to come from me.
“When you come to a new club you want to hit the ground running straight away but I still think I can give that wee bit extra.
“We’re only five games into the season and a lot of teams are tight just now.
“Usually after the first quarter you start seeing a bit of a gap between teams but we just need to take care of ourselves, look at each game and try to win them.
“You don’t win a league in August, there’s 36 games and we’ve played five.
“There are going to be ups and downs. It’s about how you react and, obviously, we want to go on a run and put some wins together.”
Another near-ever-present that has impressed Byrne is kid midfielder Fin Robertson.
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Of the 16-year-old, Byrne added: “Fin’s different class. He’s only 16 and sometimes you forget what age he is but he’s a quality player.”
